Jehoshaphat

Jehoshaphat
King of Judah
Reign	c. 870 - 849 BC
Predecessor	Asa
Successor	Jehoram

Jehoshaphat (/dʒəˈhɒʃəfæt/; alternatively spelled Jehosaphat, Josaphat, or Yehoshafat; Hebrew: יְהוֹשָׁפָט, Modern Yehoshafat, Tiberian Yəhôšāp̄āṭ; "Jehovah has judged"; Greek: Ἰωσαφάτ; Latin: Josaphat) is a Biblical name which refers to several characters in the Christian Bible: The first, Jehoshaphat the Recorder, son of Ahilud, is a scribe who first appears in 2 Samuel. Jehoshaphat, son of Paruah, in Issachar, appears in 1 Kings 4:17. Jehoshaphat, son of Asa, first appears in 1 Kings 15:24 as a King of Judah.

This article concerns Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah, as described in the Bible.

According to 1 Kings 15:24, Jehoshaphat, son of Asa, was the fourth king of the Kingdom of Judah, and successor to his father. His children included Jehoram, who succeeded him as king. His mother was Azubah. Historically, his name has sometimes been connected with the Valley of Josaphat.

Jehoshaphat ascended the throne at the age of thirty-five and reigned for twenty-five years. He spent the first years of his reign fortifying his kingdom against the Kingdom of Israel. His zeal in suppressing the idolatrous worship of the "high places" is commended in 2 Chronicles 17:6. In the third year of his reign Jehoshaphat sent out priests and Levites over the land to instruct the people in the Law, an activity that was commanded for a Sabbatical year in Deuteronomy 31:10–13. The author of the Books of Chronicles generally praises his reign, stating that the kingdom enjoyed a great measure of peace and prosperity, the blessing of God resting on the people "in their basket and their store."

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